Diabetes - An alarming sweet story
What is diabetes?
Glucose (aka blood sugar) is energy produced when food is digested. Insulin is the hormone that controls our blood sugar level by converting glucose into energy.
If our body doesn't have enough insulin, or if our insulin is not working properly, the amount of glucose staying in the blood becomes unnecessarily high. This alarming condition is called diabetes.
Signs and Symptoms
At the initial stage of diabetes, your body will not show obvious symptoms. But when the condition progresses further, you will easily feel tired and thirsty. Besides, you tend to urinate more frequently in larger amounts. Your body will also start to lose muscles and weight over time.
As diabetes is a disease that develops gradually, long-term diabetes can cause serious damage to the body and increases the risk of arteriosclerosis and coronary artery disease, which often lead to stroke and terrifying heart attacks.
Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes
In Type 1 diabetes, the pancreas could not secrete insulin. This is caused by an autoimmune destruction of pancreatic beta cells. These cells are responsible for producing and secreting insulin. This type of diabetes is more prevalent among children and young people.
Whereas for Type 2 diabetes, it is an inheritable disease as a result of aging, overeating, obesity, lack of exercise etc. As Type 2 diabetes does not show symptoms unless it reaches a harmful state, hence it is always important to manage and treat it even if there were no obvious signs..
Treatment for Diabetes
Diabetes is a metabolic disorder that occurs because there is low amount of insulin secreted. Therefore, the first step begins with the diet, and exercise as the basis, lastly medications if necessary. All you have to do is to bring the blood glucose level close to normal value.
Diet therapy is the most common, basic of treatment to all diabetes conditions, regardless of type 1 or type 2. There is no exact cure for diabetes, but by tackling your diet, exercise and medications, you can manage your blood sugar level well and prevent further complications.
Recommended Dishes for Diabetes
Delisoft Easy Meals are diabetic-friendly and the ingredients used are naturally low in sugar. They are designed by our dietitian and food technologist. At the end of the day, a well-balanced diet comprising different nutrients is the most important.
Take a fiber supplement before your meal to stabilise your blood sugar
Whole grains or high fiber vegetables (not the starchy ones)
Enjoy
High-antioxidant, non-starchy fruits
Enjoy
- Grapes
- Apples
- Tomatoes
Enjoy these made with low-fat milk
Enjoy
Leave a comment
Comments will be approved before showing up.
Also in Educational articles
What is a thickener?
What can my loved one with Parkinson's eat?
